Digging the Past Booklet

Here is the booklet that publishes the results of the project. It is available for free from Romero Communities, Athersley and New Lodge, and Experience Barnsley.

Download the booklet (You will need the free Adobe Reader to view it).

Copies will also be available at the 2016 South Yorkshire Archaeology Day.

South Yorkshire Archaeology Day

Hands on History will be at South Yorkshire Archaeology Day on the 19th November.

We are presenting the results of the project and volunteers will be there.

We will also publish a free booklet about the project results.

More details about South Yorkshire Archaeology Day can be found at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/archaeology/arch-day.html

You can download the booking form for the day from the link.

Excavation Report for 2015

Here is the report on the 18 test pits we excavated in 2015.

Download the report (You will need the free Adobe Reader to view).

This years activity involved a geo-physical survey of a site previously identified between Royston and Carlton, Barnsley, field walking for artefacts on the ground surface, further test pits in private gardens and within school grounds. The test pits were able to be dated from the recovery and specialist assessment of the pottery, clay pipes, glass, animal bones, metalwork and industrial residues (iron and glass slags). Similar finds to the 2013-14 seasons were revealed and largely date to the 20th century.

You can also download the geophysics report and the field walking report.

Barnsley Museum Autumn Events

Find out about exhibitions and events across Barnsley's museums.

http://www.experience-barnsley.com/content/downloads/BM-Autumn-Guide-2016-09502732.pdf

Excavation Report for 2014

Read all about the finds we made during the 2014 archaeology season. We excavated 41 test pits in gardens and school grounds during the year.

Download the report (You will need the free Adobe Reader to view).

The excavation of a series of test pits across St Helen’s Ward during 2014 has revealed evidence of settlement from the early Medieval right through until the Modern periods. In 2014, test pits were selected to target known archaeological sites such as the water and paper mills at Smithies, abandoned cottages also at Smithies, and a farmstead off Laithes Lane, Athersley North. Our test pits were able to be dated from the recovery and specialist assessment of the pottery, clay pipes, glass, animal bones, metalwork and industrial residues (iron and glass slags). A myriad of finds were revealed the earliest was the rim of a jar or cooking vessel (mid C11th- mid C13th), a commemorative glazed plate to large granite millstones which dated to the 19th century. 

Finds deposited at Experience Barnsley

The finds, photos and reports from the project have been deposited at Barnsley Museum. They will be stored here for future generations to research as part of the archaeological archive of Barnsley.

Fieldwork Finishes

Archaeological fieldwork on the Hands on History project has now ended. We thank all volunteers, garden owners and schools who have been involved in the project since 2013.

Over the next few months, we will publish news of a free booklet, which finds will be displayed in Experience Barnsley and our talk at South Yorkshire Archaeology Day.

Fieldwalking Report 2015

Here is the report on the field walking. We looked for pottery and other finds in the area where the crop mark of a possible enclosure was identified.

Download the report.

The enclosure probably survives as a series of filled-in ditches below ground. There is no evidence for it on the ground surface.

Fieldwalking was conduced over two days in February 2015. Four volunteers under the supervision of Bill Bevan walked over part of the geophysics transect laid out by GSB Prospection to investigate a cropmark identified on aerial photographs in this area (see illustration 1).

The archaeological aim of fieldwalking was to look for artefacts that may date and interpret the features identified by the geophysics survey. The community training aim was to train and give practical experience in fieldwalking and recording techniues to Hands on History volunteers.

The overwhelming majority of the pottery was 19^th to 20^th century in date. There were some sherds of 18^th and early 19^th century pottery along with very small quantities of medieval and early post-medieval wares. These are described in the following pottery report. The quantities and distribution of earlier pottery does not help interpret the identified sub-soil features. The vast amounts of late 19^th/early 20^th century pottery suggests a specific series of events such as dumping or manuring from middens during this short period.